James is my oldest brother, a role that entitled him to having the first driver's license out of seven kids. Since we lived way out in the country, I'm sure my mom was glad to have another person available to haul us kids where we needed to go; there were moments, though, when I'm sure she would have wished otherwise.
My first memory of driving with my brother was on they way to school. See, I was the only kid (besides James and Paula, who were already in highschool) still 'going' to school-the rest got to stay home. We went to a Christian school where K-12 were all in the same vicinity, so I ride with my brother. The first day we drove his green (like a light sage, celery, or ok booger green) VW rabbit. He convinced me that his brakes didn't work and the tires were coming off the car, only being in fourth grade, I didn't know he was just swerving the steering wheel! As soon as we arrived at school I ran to tell my friends about our "adventure" and they all promised to give me a ride home. After I was assured his car was not falling apart, it became very cool to have a brother that could drive me to school.
The next ride that visits my mind was driving home from school another day. James kept reaching back to share his massive 7-11 soda with the boys (younger twin brothers-John & Mike) and was totally not paying attention to the rode-which was the 65 MPH, I-8 freeway. Being the ever alert co-pilot, I casually informed my brother that we were about to smash into the slow moving station wagon in front of us. Whether it was quick thinking or pure luck, he swerved around the wagon into the emergency lane and back onto the freeway. After my life was done flashing berfore my eyes and I realized we were OK, James convinced me that emergency lanes "were made for that".
Let's see, there are so many to list here. We went to Knott's Berry Farm another time and drove home really late. It was freezing in his car-he kept it that way to keep himself awake-and I was searching for anything I could use as a blanket. Of course, all I could find was his stinky Alpine Lumber work shirt, but when you're desperate and tired you don't really care. Ok, getting back to the driving...he would occasionally swerve and I'd say "dude, what are you doing?" "Oh, you know, just testing you"-riiight. He was totally falling asleep, which I decided to do myself. They say if you are sleeping the impact in a car accident isn't as bad-so I figured I'd be ok. We did manage to make it home in one piece, he has his own stories of falling asleep at the wheel that included car damage-and I'm glad I'm not in them :-)!
The fog could get pretty thick up in the mountains and lucky me, I was driving with James again. We made it off the freeway and to our road-which had a cliff on one side and a mountain on the other- and he mentioned he couldn't see very well (windshield wipers didn't work-"it's San Diego-who needs them?"). Like any rational person would do, he decided to stick his head out the window to see "better". Yep, you guessed it, drove himself right into the sage brush on the mountain side-not the car-just himself. Again, we made it home, him with a few extra scratches-not the car, his arm.
There are countless other tales of my experience as a passenger with my brother, but for the moment my memory has repressed them to a place that keeps me from realizing how fortunate I am to be alive. Ok, so maybe it wasn't that dramatic, I was young and it was fun!
The moral of this flashback: When your oldest kid gets their license, pray-A LOT!
**P.S. HAPPY BIRTHDAY JAMES!!!!!
Thursday, February 8, 2007
Another Good Day
Yesterday Ashlynn had her dance lesson. So far, with the exception of one time, Randy has been able to watch the two boys while I take her. He was on shift yesterday though, so the boys had to come with. Ryder packed his backpack full of trucks so he would have something to play with while we waited. He was so sweet, he asked the other kids who there waiting if they wanted to play and shared all of his trucks with them too! It was so cute to watch him get all the kids playing so us moms could chat. When we got home I set him up on the counter and told him I needed to "talk" to him. He looked at me with some concern, but I quickly told him how proud I was of him for sharing his toys and inviting all of the kids to play with him; he just got this huge grin on his face and gave me a great big hug-what a special moment!
Gage has been the sweetest, funniest baby lately! Randy was holding him Tuesday night and he was just "talking" away. Randy wanted to me to get it on camera, so maybe I'll learn how to put that on here one of these days :-). Gage is so content just hanging out with us and going about our crazy days just smiling. Lynnie can always get him to laugh and she loves 'taking care' of him for me. Yesterday was a big deal too, he got his first oat ring (like cheerios) and he really liked them. He's still not a big fan of the oatmeal (I make it homemade), just likes "mommy" for now. I'm sure in few months that will change, I enjoy the special time I have with him-just the two of us (with the kids playing all around)!
I also have to brag on Randy-I know this post is getting long..but; he had his annual Captain's review on Monday and received an Outstanding!! Only two others Captains have ever received that, I am soooo proud. It was like pulling teeth to get the info out of him, but he finally let me read the paperwork on it and I was so amazed. He does such an awesome job at work and I know I don't always give him the credit that is due. Often, I get so absorbed in what I am doing at home I forget to ask him how his day was. Hopefully, this will be a good reminder for me to be a wife and mother that "builds up" and not "tears down" (sometimes I think just not saying anything is the same thing)!
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Tuesday, February 6, 2007
Play time
This morning we went to Bump City and the kids had a blast. It's a big gymnastics facility that is open to kids 4 and under on Tuesdays. It was kinda spendy (five bucks each for 45 min!) so we definitely won't be doing it each week, but I went with a friend of mine from church. Her little boy Cameron is Ryder's age, he's just a cutie pie! After the gym we had to run a few errands, so the kids were ready for a nap once we got home.
Tonight I am taking dinner to a family from our church that has a five day old foster baby. They already have an eight month old foster baby, so they have their hands full! They are new to our church and I haven't met them personally, so I am glad to get the chance. When she gave me directions to their house we found out she lives about two blocks from us! Every time I go for a walk I actually pass their house-what a small world! Anyway, I am making Salsa Chicken, Spanish Rice (thanks for those recipes Cole!), Refried Beans & Guacamole. Surely everyone likes mexican food :-).
My eyes have been itching like crazy (just the lids & under eye-not the eyeball) the last couple of weeks, I went to our DO yesterday and she advised me to get new eye make-up, and not wear any this week. So today is day two with no eye make-up; I'm so nerdy too, I make sure I let everyone know I'm having a reaction to something-'I don't always look this bad'. As if they even notice or care!! Hopefully it will clear up soon and I can go back to looking "normal".
Monday, February 5, 2007
Global Warming...my two cents
What I do:
When I'm not in a room-the light is off, usually.
When we use the bathroom in our house we (most of us anyway) enforce the two or four square rule, depending on, well, you know.
We only flush when, well, you know.
The thermostat is set low. I am reassured of this fact when my warm natured husband states "it's freezing in here, woman!".
I wash my hair once or at the most twice a week-I know it sounds gross, but I'm told it doesn't smell funny.
My kids do not have an excessive amount of toys (yes, many of them are plastic though).
We have requested two recycle bins that go out with the trash and yes, they are full every week.
I take short showers, not shaving everyday really helps with this.
I drive a car with 148,000 miles on it that is tiny and very fuel efficient-yes, three car seats fit in it.
I LOVE to eat healthy, I'm kind of a health nut-organic, fresh food, yum.
I don't buy packaged junk food-except once in a blue moon.
I buy what we need-that's it.
Why I do the above:
I am frugal. Sometimes I am called a miser, penny-pincher, tight-wad, cheap-skate, etc. The list goes on.
Why I do NOT do the above:
We live in the greatest country in the world-yep I said it-the greatest. You know why? We have more FREEDOM than any other country in the world. If this "crisis" were to be addressed as the environmentalist would like, we would lose much of that precious gift. Don't get me wrong, I applaud those who have chosen a minimalist lifestyle, but there is a key word in there...they chose it. If laws were set to "protect" "mother earth" from this sudden disaster or pending doom that has been predicted, it would not end there.
Look at the EVERYTHING this group believes. Most of those bent on saving the planet put more emphasis on it than human life. A tree, for example, is more important than an unborn child, or an elderly veteran. Some might say, "well if there is no earth left, how can human life matter?". I suppose I would first have to buy into the theory of global warming to begin with, but I don't. I could list scientific facts and research to back this up, but I won't, because you shouldn't always believe everything you read on the internet-do the research like I did (be weary of anything that endorses a lot of crazy propaganda).
Stick with me here, my freedom is important to me. I am a capable adult as are most of the people I know; we do not need special laws to inform us on how to live our capable lives. The more you give for the sake of "mother earth" the more they will take for the sake of themselves and their agenda.
Will I continue on in my frugal ways? Sure, I want to be a good steward of what God has so awesomely blessed me with. Do I expect every person around me to do the same? Nope, most probably already are-there's that capable thing again-and if they're not, it will be reflected in there cost of living. Will I always be so healthy? Yeah, like I said, I like it. Will I deprive my children of the occasional ice-cream sundae or Friday night pizza (with REAL pepperoni)? NO WAY! Life is short, and I will not let a cause driven by things that do not stick with my morals and beliefs to take away my freedom in living it.
When I'm not in a room-the light is off, usually.
When we use the bathroom in our house we (most of us anyway) enforce the two or four square rule, depending on, well, you know.
We only flush when, well, you know.
The thermostat is set low. I am reassured of this fact when my warm natured husband states "it's freezing in here, woman!".
I wash my hair once or at the most twice a week-I know it sounds gross, but I'm told it doesn't smell funny.
My kids do not have an excessive amount of toys (yes, many of them are plastic though).
We have requested two recycle bins that go out with the trash and yes, they are full every week.
I take short showers, not shaving everyday really helps with this.
I drive a car with 148,000 miles on it that is tiny and very fuel efficient-yes, three car seats fit in it.
I LOVE to eat healthy, I'm kind of a health nut-organic, fresh food, yum.
I don't buy packaged junk food-except once in a blue moon.
I buy what we need-that's it.
Why I do the above:
I am frugal. Sometimes I am called a miser, penny-pincher, tight-wad, cheap-skate, etc. The list goes on.
Why I do NOT do the above:
We live in the greatest country in the world-yep I said it-the greatest. You know why? We have more FREEDOM than any other country in the world. If this "crisis" were to be addressed as the environmentalist would like, we would lose much of that precious gift. Don't get me wrong, I applaud those who have chosen a minimalist lifestyle, but there is a key word in there...they chose it. If laws were set to "protect" "mother earth" from this sudden disaster or pending doom that has been predicted, it would not end there.
Look at the EVERYTHING this group believes. Most of those bent on saving the planet put more emphasis on it than human life. A tree, for example, is more important than an unborn child, or an elderly veteran. Some might say, "well if there is no earth left, how can human life matter?". I suppose I would first have to buy into the theory of global warming to begin with, but I don't. I could list scientific facts and research to back this up, but I won't, because you shouldn't always believe everything you read on the internet-do the research like I did (be weary of anything that endorses a lot of crazy propaganda).
Stick with me here, my freedom is important to me. I am a capable adult as are most of the people I know; we do not need special laws to inform us on how to live our capable lives. The more you give for the sake of "mother earth" the more they will take for the sake of themselves and their agenda.
Will I continue on in my frugal ways? Sure, I want to be a good steward of what God has so awesomely blessed me with. Do I expect every person around me to do the same? Nope, most probably already are-there's that capable thing again-and if they're not, it will be reflected in there cost of living. Will I always be so healthy? Yeah, like I said, I like it. Will I deprive my children of the occasional ice-cream sundae or Friday night pizza (with REAL pepperoni)? NO WAY! Life is short, and I will not let a cause driven by things that do not stick with my morals and beliefs to take away my freedom in living it.
Friday, February 2, 2007
Flashback Friday: Waddles
Waddles was our pet cockatiel. He was mostly gray, with some white and yellow around his face along with the trademark orange cheeks. I'm not exactly sure when he came to be with us, but he was a gift from our cousin Lisa.
Waddles had a few talents. He could say "praise the Lord"-I'm sure my mom taught him that one, "charge" (for the San Diego Chargers??) and chirp incessantly at the first break of dawn and throughout the day; the latter was not what we considered a 'talent'. We would, however, show off his "sayings" to everyone who came to visit our house, but the chirping had to go.
It was always a fight between us kids as to whose room he was going to stay in, because we all knew we had to be prepared. Let me explain: Each morning as the chirping would wake you from your comfortable slumber, you would reach for anything available to "chuck" at the cage-this would get him to stop-for a moment. It would usually have to be followed up by several more items to get him to stop so you could go back to sleep (none of which brought any harm to the bird-I promise!) .
Now some of you are thinking-how cruel, that's abuse. But I'm telling you, this bird was the toughest, meanest bird that ever lived. He would only let a few of us change the paper in his cage and feed him. He would sometimes ride on our shoulder around the house, but watch out for those ears! Honestly, if he felt the need to escape his life with us, he had his chances.
One day Nicole, Rebekah and I saw Waddles out on the roof. We went running down the hall shouting to dad that Waddles escaped from his cage. However, when we got to Waddles cage he was still in there; apparently someone else had let their cockatiel go. The crazy thing is that we lived way out in the country-no neighbors close by-so we don't know where this other bird came from. After pleading with Dad to 'save' the other bird, he obliged, armed himself with a work glove and caught the other bird. We affably named him Wolfgang and put him in the cage with Waddles. They got along just fine, though I don't remember much else of Wolfgang.
One beautiful sunny morning, mom set the cage outside so the birds could get some fresh air. Our dog had other plans-no he didn't eat the brids-don't worry. He knocked the cage over though and Woldfgang flew away, Waddles, of course, stayed. We couldn't get rid of him if we tried. The chirping day and night drove us all insane!
Even after I married and moved away, whenver I would call home I could hear that bird in the background-chirping away. I could hear my younger brothers telling him to "shut-up", I'm sure they were saying it nicely. It wasn't that my family didn't love animals, we were just more dog people than bird people.
We figured he would outlive us all, he had to have been about 26 or 27 when he passed, my sister Nicole called me, crying, to let me know. After all those years of trying to get hime quiet and complaining about him, we all ended up shedding a few tears over him leaving us (ok, maybe not my brothers). In a house with seven kids, numerous dogs and a stray cat, I give the bird credit, he had to be tough as nails to survive it.
Waddles, we miss you buddy.
The moral of this flashback: Choose your household pets wisely, don't just accept any pet-even it's from family.
Waddles had a few talents. He could say "praise the Lord"-I'm sure my mom taught him that one, "charge" (for the San Diego Chargers??) and chirp incessantly at the first break of dawn and throughout the day; the latter was not what we considered a 'talent'. We would, however, show off his "sayings" to everyone who came to visit our house, but the chirping had to go.
It was always a fight between us kids as to whose room he was going to stay in, because we all knew we had to be prepared. Let me explain: Each morning as the chirping would wake you from your comfortable slumber, you would reach for anything available to "chuck" at the cage-this would get him to stop-for a moment. It would usually have to be followed up by several more items to get him to stop so you could go back to sleep (none of which brought any harm to the bird-I promise!) .
Now some of you are thinking-how cruel, that's abuse. But I'm telling you, this bird was the toughest, meanest bird that ever lived. He would only let a few of us change the paper in his cage and feed him. He would sometimes ride on our shoulder around the house, but watch out for those ears! Honestly, if he felt the need to escape his life with us, he had his chances.
One day Nicole, Rebekah and I saw Waddles out on the roof. We went running down the hall shouting to dad that Waddles escaped from his cage. However, when we got to Waddles cage he was still in there; apparently someone else had let their cockatiel go. The crazy thing is that we lived way out in the country-no neighbors close by-so we don't know where this other bird came from. After pleading with Dad to 'save' the other bird, he obliged, armed himself with a work glove and caught the other bird. We affably named him Wolfgang and put him in the cage with Waddles. They got along just fine, though I don't remember much else of Wolfgang.
One beautiful sunny morning, mom set the cage outside so the birds could get some fresh air. Our dog had other plans-no he didn't eat the brids-don't worry. He knocked the cage over though and Woldfgang flew away, Waddles, of course, stayed. We couldn't get rid of him if we tried. The chirping day and night drove us all insane!
Even after I married and moved away, whenver I would call home I could hear that bird in the background-chirping away. I could hear my younger brothers telling him to "shut-up", I'm sure they were saying it nicely. It wasn't that my family didn't love animals, we were just more dog people than bird people.
We figured he would outlive us all, he had to have been about 26 or 27 when he passed, my sister Nicole called me, crying, to let me know. After all those years of trying to get hime quiet and complaining about him, we all ended up shedding a few tears over him leaving us (ok, maybe not my brothers). In a house with seven kids, numerous dogs and a stray cat, I give the bird credit, he had to be tough as nails to survive it.
Waddles, we miss you buddy.
The moral of this flashback: Choose your household pets wisely, don't just accept any pet-even it's from family.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
Good Day
Randy was home today and watched the kids this morning while I slept in-yeah!!!! I stayed in bed until 9:30, but felt like I could have slept until noon. It was just a nice lazy morning; I made french toast and omelets (with spinach & cheese-yum!). Randy played with the kids while I washed and dried my hair all in one sitting, without one kid busting into to the bathroom for some "emergency". Then I fed the kids lunch, nursed Gage, put them all down for a nap and ran to Wild Oats and Costco.
It's funny, taking the kids with me is a lot of work, but when they're not with me I feel like something's missing. I suppose they are part of my identity and I find myself mentioning them whenever I get the chance. I'm sure the cashier could care less who the apples are for, or that Ashlynn 'just loves oranges'. Or when the lady's kid in front of me does something embarrassing, I immediately reassure her I have three at home-so it's no big deal. Why do I do this? Why don't I relish in being alone, even pretend for a moment I'm a young kid-free women?
Partly, I know, I'm proud to be a mom and I love my kids. But deep inside I want people to look at me, look at what I can do-I can handle three kids all by myself-yes, they are all mine and yes, I have my hands full-but I can do it, I can make it work. This thinking probably plagues many stay-at-home moms. We love our kids, love being their mom; but it's our job too. We want recognition that we "meet expectations" or, by golly, that we "exceed expectations". So, going to the store, is not just "going to the store" for me. It's an appraisal for who I am as a mom and how good of a job I am doing (or not doing).
Is that really where I should be looking for my worth? Of course not, although it is very easy to do. There is only one source for me to draw from and that is Jesus. He alone is the measure of my worth, and considering He laid down His life for mine, I suppose I must be worthy. I also know, that I am only worthy because of Him. He provided the grace to overlook my immeasurable imperfections and shortcomings. He needs to be who I seek in every aspect of mothering.
This is not a task that comes naturally to me, I don't always listen and I don't always make time for Him, but I want to, I strive to, and I know He knows that. Thank you, Lord, for Your grace.
It's funny, taking the kids with me is a lot of work, but when they're not with me I feel like something's missing. I suppose they are part of my identity and I find myself mentioning them whenever I get the chance. I'm sure the cashier could care less who the apples are for, or that Ashlynn 'just loves oranges'. Or when the lady's kid in front of me does something embarrassing, I immediately reassure her I have three at home-so it's no big deal. Why do I do this? Why don't I relish in being alone, even pretend for a moment I'm a young kid-free women?
Partly, I know, I'm proud to be a mom and I love my kids. But deep inside I want people to look at me, look at what I can do-I can handle three kids all by myself-yes, they are all mine and yes, I have my hands full-but I can do it, I can make it work. This thinking probably plagues many stay-at-home moms. We love our kids, love being their mom; but it's our job too. We want recognition that we "meet expectations" or, by golly, that we "exceed expectations". So, going to the store, is not just "going to the store" for me. It's an appraisal for who I am as a mom and how good of a job I am doing (or not doing).
Is that really where I should be looking for my worth? Of course not, although it is very easy to do. There is only one source for me to draw from and that is Jesus. He alone is the measure of my worth, and considering He laid down His life for mine, I suppose I must be worthy. I also know, that I am only worthy because of Him. He provided the grace to overlook my immeasurable imperfections and shortcomings. He needs to be who I seek in every aspect of mothering.
This is not a task that comes naturally to me, I don't always listen and I don't always make time for Him, but I want to, I strive to, and I know He knows that. Thank you, Lord, for Your grace.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
